Written by: Badawi Habak
Translated by: Lina Yahya Raydan
NNA - Driving up towards Bcharri district and at an altitude of 1200 m above sea level, Qnat village is located. A distinctive village named after the daughter of the God El in the Greek methodology.
Two queens resided the village, each on a hill opposing the other.
Qnat has a population of 3500 persons distributed between homeland and foreign countries; most of them spread between Brazil and Australia. Most of Qnat's locals leave the village during winter to the capital Beirut or Al-Koura regions to return to it in summer where they enjoy its beautiful weather and greenery.
Churches and Shrines
Qnat is full of churches and shrines where Saint Mary Church is considered the main Parish Church in the region.
There is also the historic Mar China Church which was built in 1800 on the ruins of a pagan temple as mentioned on a stone plate hanged on one of its walls.
Other Churches found in the village are Saints Sarkis and Bakhos Church, Saint Joseph Church, and Saint Yaacoub Church.
Those who are seeking serenity can enjoy it in one of the many convents and shrines found in the village such as Saint Chalita convent --in which there is a Church and a cave-Saint Michael convent, Hermitage Saint Semaan, Saint Antonios Al-Badwani shrine, Shmouneh Lady shrine, Sainte Takla Shrine in which a spring is found.
It is worth to note that people used to drink from this spring before the main water network was installed.
Saint Chalita cave is also found in the village. It consists of two floors an upper and a lower one from which Saint Chalita Spring stems out.
The spring which waters the agricultural lands in the village pours into Al-Osfour river in Kfarhilda.
Crops
Qnat is famous for many crops such as vine, fig, apple, pear and olive trees. One of the village's unique characteristics is that both Olive trees which need warm weather and Apple trees which need cold weather grow in it. This just reveals one of the many distinctive advantages of the village.
Development projects
Many projects are planned to develop the village's infrastructure as the head of Qnat's municipality, Chalita Karam said.
"There are two water projects to be carried out in the village in cooperation with Kuwaiti Fund for Development (...) there are also preparations to install drainage network funded by the European Union," the municipality head said.
He also pointed to a renovation project to a public park at Saint Joseph region, funded by Bcharri District Municipalities Union.
The municipality head pointed that the water project values about one million dollars, the drainage project values about 9 thousand dollars and the public garden project values about 200 thousand dollars.
He also said that as a result of the mayor's and the municipality's efforts, they succeeded to get a generator funded by Qnat Charity Association in Sidney- Australia.
Recently, the Lebanese Forces opened a charity dispensary in the village to help in providing health services and medicines to the sick people.
The dispensary also contains rooms equipped for ophthalmology and dentistry.
Qnat extends over an area of 7.6 million square meters and is characterized by its stone houses with red brick roofs.
The village has a sports club founded in 1954 which was known at the volleyball union in practicing the said game. The club, headed by Emile Jabbour the director of the Lebanese Union for volleyball, has won Lebanon's championship in the said game more than once.
Qnat is the town of many of the men who excelled in Lebanon and the world in all judicial, medical and social fields. It is the home land of Bishop Francis Baysari of whom a street was renamed after him in the region that connects the public square to the Churches.
Qnat, a village in Bcharri district which enjoys many advantages , is distinguished for its magic and beauty.
